K12 Headlines

11/1/2013

Developed specifically to address the requirements of the Common Core State Standards, these highly interactive instructional resources enable teachers to provide targeted instructional content to each student based on his or her most critical areas of need.

Combined, these technologies allow people to have truly natural conversations with the robot, in nineteen different languages. Further, NAO robots will become even further personalized through a custom text-to-speech voice that was specifically developed to match the robot’s personality.

Paired with a 2MP webcam with integrated microphone for video conferencing, and built-in speakers, this dual-point optical touch screen display is ideal for commercial vertical markets such as signage, point of information, and kiosks for interactive applications in enterprise, SMB, education, POS, hospitality and more.

In yet another move to distance itself from the troubling text message scandal that has rocked, and divided, the community, the Coatesville Area School District board announced that Fitts, a veteran New Jersey educator, will take over as interim superintendent of the Pa district.

Superintendent Pamela C. Brown said she has no plans to hire consultant Mary E. Guinn as her new second-in-command for the Buffalo School District, even as speculation continues to swirl that Guinn may still have a future with the district.

About 100 students and community activists gathered outside Trenton Central High School this morning to demand repair or rebuilding of the aging school building. The students echoed chants of “Rebuild TCHS” while they walked around the building holding signs, drawing honks from passing cars as school administrators looked on.

A new Gallup poll released on Tuesday found that, although the majority of Americans say the value and format of online education are equal to or better than traditional education, many still doubt its quality.

The push to toughen state exams for Illinois grade school students triggered widespread drops in 2013 scores, with hundreds of schools in some of the state's poorest communities seeing performances plunge.

Testing of public school students in a New York City suburb was canceled on Monday after someone anonymously posted several of the exams on a public website. The breach of test security in the Montclair, N.J., school district was discovered by a parent on Friday. Only teachers and senior staff have password access to the secure web portal.

The court battle between two girls and their Pennsylvania school over "I (heart) Boobies!" bracelets could be settled by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Easton Area School District board voted 7-1 to appeal a federal appeals court's decision that rejected its claim the bracelets are lewd and should be banned from school.

The planning is underway in Baltimore's $1 billion-plus, decade-long effort to bring public schools into the 21st century—in fact, there's a design expo at Morgan State University this weekend—which means we have entered a seminal period in the city's history.

For years, a principal’s job was to make sure students were not creating a ruckus in the hallways or smoking in the bathroom. Vigilance ended at the schoolhouse gates. ﻿Now, as students complain, taunt, and sometimes cry out for help on social media, educators have more opportunities to monitor students around the clock. And some schools are turning to technology for help.

High school seniors from seven area school districts are earning their high school diploma while also learning skills for high-demand fields under a program launched at Waukesha County Technical College. The yearlong pilot of the college's Dual Enrollment Academy offers manufacturing-related skills training in welding and metal fabrication, tool and die, and information technology.

Two of Half Hollow Hills' seven elementary schools, in Melville, N.Y., will close at the end of this school year due to declining enrollment districtwide—a cost-cutting move that drew both anger and sadness from parents.